Date Night
by ScottyBgood
Summary: It's the summer after graduation, and Tori is alone on a Friday night. (Sad that's not new.) Her friends have either scattered, have things to do, or are Robbie, and she's trying to avoid the goth who's boyfriend she convinced to take a roll in some out of state project. Only, some girls just don't take being alone well, especially on date night. One shot.


Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Nickelodeon and Schneider's Bakery do. Still, they never went here with these two.

:}

Tori was sitting in her living room, basking in the quiet of a Friday night with no expectations. The gang was scattered for the summer, and Tori intended to enjoy her time at home. 'Beck told me he was off to do that show in Colorado, the one I pushed him to try out for, so maybe it's best to avoid any of our old hangouts for a while.' Tori had reasoned, knowing that Jade probably blamed her for the recent breakup. 'Like she wasn't driving him away.'

"Vega, open up." Echoed from outside, letting the singer know said girl had arrived at her door. With her parents out on a date weekend, and Trina off at some martial arts camp, Tori was alone. "Open the door, and I probably won't hurt you… Much!"

"Not the best argument for me letting you in." Tori said to the door.

Seconds later, the door opened, and Jade strode into the Vega home. "Get dressed, we're going out." She told the Latina.

"Wait, how'd you open that?" Tori asked while pointing at her supposedly locked door.

"You never lock the door." Jade said with a shrug.

"But I did this time." Tori countered. "Cause I knew you were wazzed, and felt that maybe I didn't want to be murdered in my own living room."

"Is that why you think I'm here?" The blue eyed terror asked. "Vega, I would, except I..." Her face fell. "I'm lonely." Her shoulders fell. "What with Cat busy with her baby sitting gig, plus Puckett has pretty much replaced me as her best friend. Then there's Andre, who's been avoiding me cause he took Beck's side in things. I could hang with Rob, cause I'm almost that desperate, but he has a girlfriend." She gave a moment for that to hit. "I know, I had to make sure she wasn't inflatable too. But he has her, and she speaks some English, and a lot of something Slavic. What is it about him and foreign girls? Anyways, the only thing more pathetic then being a third wheel is being a third wheel to Robbie, so I couldn't head over there, cause I'd have to kill someone, and I couldn't guarantee who it would be."

"So you came over here cause your bored?" Tori asked.

"Still not big on the listening, are you, Vega." Jade harrumphed. "I said I was lonely. Not that great at meeting people, which sucks, cause high schools over, and once summer's over, its time to go to collage. But, before that, I need to take care of a list of things, starting with this." Her blue eyes locked on the singer. "You owe me a boyfriend."

"How am I supposed to help you with that?" Tori asked back. "First, I don't owe you one, I just helped a friend, and he decided, all on his own, to break it off from the girl who told him he couldn't go, cause your love wouldn't survive the distance."

"But you convinced him to go." Jade pointed out.

"Second, even if I had a boyfriend, which I don't, why would I give him to you." Tori continued. "Jade, your hot, you said so yourself, so go out and meet some guy. See, in the real world, if you don't act all homicidal, they approach you, ask you out, and are even nice to you sometimes."

"If you know so much, why are you home on a Friday night?" Jade all but taunted.

"Because I'm avoiding my psychotic friend who may well be trying to hurt me." Tori said. "Plus, the guy I was seeing, turns out he meant it when he said we weren't exclusive. Wasn't interested in a three way."

"Okay, I understand your points, but that doesn't change the fact, you owe me a boyfriend." Jade got back to point. "It's Friday, and that's date night, and I'm done spending date nights alone at home feeling lonely."

"Again, what am I supposed to do about that?" Tori asked.

"Fill in, of course." Jade tossed out like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "So get dressed, cause your taking me out."

Tori thought of a good dozen responses, some of which would get her a pair of scissors thrust through her flesh, but in the end decided to see how far Jade was planning on taking this. "Why?" She asked as she got to her feet. "Whats the twist? I disappear, and no one's the wiser cause I got in your car willingly?"

"Not sure." Jade replied, her mind drifting. "This would be sex night, so I… I guess I'm missing the human contact. However, and this is important, not gonna force you to do anything but take me out on a date, so I won't be alone."

"You had a sex night?" Tori sounded astonished. "I thought Beck said you two weren't intimate? That was the reason he gave for hooking up with..." Her voice faded, realization hitting hard as she wondered how quickly she'd die.

"I know about the girl he's porking." Jade assured the singer. "That's another reason I'm here. I knew, know, that you're the girl he wanted to be inseminating. Only, he's off, in Colorado, making that show, and you're here, all alone, with no guy who could object if you started something intimate."

"Planed this out, did you?" It was too casual, and Tori regretted asking before the words had finished leaving her mouth.

"I'm feeling vulnerable, and we have a lot of history between us." Jade told her. "No, I'm not expecting anything to happen, and if it starts, you're always free to say no, or give me a safe word. Red works well, but you may want one of your own. Besides, nothings gonna happen." Blue eyes were trying to remember how to go all doe on her, and it tugged at the Latina's heartstrings.

'Uh-oh, this isn't good...' Tori realized, watching the other girl turn on charms she had no idea existed before that night. 'I'm already feeling some attraction, and Jade's all vulnerable, thinking of how she and Beck used to get intimate. This could get awkward, especially as she realizes that I'm not a good substitute for Beck.''

Despite her many misgivings, including having feelings she'd never admitted to her self she'd ever felt, Tori allowed herself to be pressured into going out. 'Besides, I was gonna be alone anyways. Might as well play along, see what she's planning, cause with Jade, there's always some kind of scheme. Yea, that's it. She's up to something, and playing on my feelings, that's so her.'

Tori felt her hostility towards the other girl building, even as she took a quick shower, found the right pair of jeans, her tan top that looked oh so good on her, and that silver pendant to highlight her features. Even the blue feather earrings were chosen because they highlighted features she wanted the goth to notice. 'Jacket on, and I'm ready to head out.' Tori decided, finding her purse, and then transferring her wallet into her pocket.

"Well?" The singer asked as she descended the stairs.

"Twenty three minutes." Jade announced. "You had me waiting here twenty three minutes."

"You surprised me with this date thingy, and I was planning on staying in." Tori argued. "It takes time to get ready. If your gonna spring a date on someone, expect them to need a moment."

"Was gonna comment on how, given the circumstances, that was fairly quick." Jade gave a mocking smile. "But now, I think I have to complain. So..." Her voice shifted to a monotone, with an almost mechanical pacing. "Damn it Vega, why didn't you anticipate my coming over."

"Am I gonna be subjected to this all night?" The Latina moaned, hoping to end the teasing.

"You look lovely." Jade responded, ignoring the dig Tori had tried. "So, where you taking me?"

"I'm taking you?" Tori repeated, trying to wrap her mind around that statement. "You do realize I still don't drive, right?"

The pale girl gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, I'll drive. Still, what kind of guy asks a girl out, then makes her drive? And worse, I had to come pick you up. This isn't a good first impression."

"You barged in to my home, and insisted..." Tori started.

"I insisted you take Beck's place, maybe fill the hole I've had since he's been gone." Jade told the brown eyed girl. "I don't know if you've noticed, but Beck was the guy in the relationship. He took me places, fed me, and I feel I need to be pampered."

"Kill me now." Tori groaned at the sky.

"No, cause you owe me a date." Jade said, leading them to her car. "Now, where am I driving us?"

"What kind of food would you like?" Tori asked, trying to be as chivalrous as she'd always hoped her dates would be.

"I don't know, suggest something." Jade almost whined back.

"Not gonna fall for this." Tori told her, even as she seat belted herself in. "Jade, this game, it ends here."

"You're not gonna take me on a date?" The goth sounded wounded, but this time, Tori didn't fall into the trap.

"Never said that." The singer explained. "Jade, this 'choose something. No, I don't wanna eat there. Why aren't you decisive?' chiz ends now. You and me, we can do this, for whatever reason, but I'm not Beck, and I'm not gonna get manipulated into an argument, just because you're, um, well…."

"Me?" Jade managed to sound almost amused. "Look, you never really dated Beck, so you had no idea that Beck was the one causing the fights. The whole where do you wanna eat chiz, that's so normal in relationships that some people think it's the first hurdle you need to cover. So, why don't we agree on something, and you can pretend I'm being intentionally difficult."

"I heard of this Asian Fusion place in Pasadena." Tori suggested.

"Not in the mood to drive all the way to Pasadena." Jade said.

"Fine, you suggest something." Tori huffed.

"Bots." Jade said. "It's in Venice, just a dozen or so miles from here, and I know the foods not horrible, so..."

"Fine, lets do that." Tori agreed. "Um, wait, what kind of food do they serve?"

"American classic." Jade informed.

"Kay, lets go." Tori agreed.

Jade smiled, and the car started moving. "Um, conversation?"

"What do you want from me?" Tori asked. The glance Jade gave was dangerous, causing the other girl to backtrack a bit. "I mean, you told me what you wanted, but I just, I… what's your game?"

"I'm lonely." Jade repeated, not sure her date understood. "We've had this complicated relationship, and I was just thinking, who do I have any real emotional connections with? You, Rob, Andre and Cat. Only, Cat's like my little sister, or my child, which is awkward, cause she's older then me, by like a month."

"No way." Tori interrupted. "Cat can't be older then you. She comes across as so young."

"She is." Jade told her date. "I'm younger. Plus, at our age, it's often hard to tell, based on how different people grow."

"So no dating Cat." Tori said, hoping to get the conversation going again.

"Andre, we almost had something, only he never told me he was crushing on me, and I was with Beck at the time." Jade continued. "After, when I was single again, I realized I could never date a guy who lives in mortal terror of me, which sucked, cause that's the majority of the guys at Hollywood arts."

"And of course, Rob's..." Tori tried to fill in. "He has Rex, which is disqualifying enough."

"He has Rex." Jade agreed. "And he's like that adopted kid you don't really like, but come to love. All weird and creepy, but a good person under it all. Yea, I'd shred Rex if I could, but doing so would only cause Rob more grief then it would save, so I hold off on doing anything irreversible to him." She gave an exaggerated shrug. "I guess I'm saying, I love him, kinda like a friend, but can't stand to be around him."

"That makes sense, I guess." Tori felt oddly confused. "You realize, with the exception of Cat, this may be the first time I've heard you admit feelings for any of those guys."

"Well, it's hard for me to admit when I like things." Jade admitted. "If I do, then they have power over me, and will use it against me. Honestly, in all my years, of all the people I've ever met, you're the one person who's ever had anything on me and didn't use it."

"Now that can't be true." Tori challenged, well aware that this was a very open Jade she was dealing with. 'I just hope she doesn't shut down, or decide she's told me too much and drop me off in the middle of the desert. Heck, I hope she doesn't choose to drive off a bridge… is there a bridge near here?' Her mind reeled at that thought, images of them recreating the ending of Thelma and Louise. "Um, Jade, there aren't any bridges on our rout, are there?"

"Not on the rout I'd planned." The pale girl replied. "Why? Wanna look out at the ocean, or down some kind of drop?"

"No, it's just… This is wierding me out, and I wanted to make sure we were only traveling along safe roads. You know, just in case..." She had no idea if she wanted to add to that thought.

"Not planning on killing you, Vega." Jade assured the girl. "Heck, I've already told you where my limits are tonight, so, unless the threat of a goodnight kiss is freaking you out, you really have nothing to worry about."

"That's not whats worrying me." Tori said, deciding to throw caution to the wind. "Jade, you're being open and honest with me."

"I'm always open and honest." Jade said, smiling a bit. "People just mistake that for being a gank."

"So you tell people things like you've been hurt by people you thought you could trust?" Tori risked.

"I thought that was obvious." The goth said, her smile fading. "Tori, it's not my fault that people suck, or are blind to the needs and hurts of others. I thought, given my own love of all thing dark and painful, that everyone knew I was a sick, sick puppy. Hell, I was surprised, back at that lame ass prom you threw..."

"Prome." Tori corrected before she could think better of it.

"Whatever, back then, when you called me a sick person, I was honestly shocked you hadn't figured that out weeks before." Jade finished. "Course, setting it up so that would be rapist would carry me off, that kinda showed you could be a sick person too."

"Sorry, what?" It was the first time Tori ever thought of that moment as anything other then a master stroke, guessing at the kind of person Doug was, and using that to end both his diapered rein of terror, as well as Jade's sabotage of the dance.

"You let a grown man carry a sixteen year old girl off, and no one bothered to check as to what he was doing with me in private." The blue eyed girl said. "It's a good thing I can take care of myself, cause otherwise, that would have been..." Jade shut down, right there, focusing on driving as a tear fought past her iron defenses and made it's way down her porcelain face.

"What?" The singer had no idea she'd been drawn in so much by this conversation, or the realization that she'd let a potently sick man carry off a teenage girl. "Wait, did he try anything? I mean..."

"He grabbed me and carried me off." Jade replied, only her voice was distant, ice cold. "What kind of man does that, even to a girl he's dating? That was a prom, the first dance of the prom king and queen. That should have been embarrassing, him dancing with me, and not turn into the assault it was."

"He tried..." Tori was having trouble wrapping her mind around what she was hearing, mostly because it was clearly her fault it happened..

"Hell, from what I can tell, at Sherwood, they had a prom king try to carry off his queen, and they were dating at the time, and the chaperons stopped them, almost calling the police in the process." Jade continued. "Or at least that's what the officer who booked me for assaulting that creep told me. It's kinda why they found me not guilty, and let me go…." Tears were now streaming down her face, as she pulled the car over. "Sorry, but I brought this on myself. I.. I wanna have someone I can trust to know the dragon, so they can help me feel safe."

"W-what dragon?" Tori asked, now too freaked out about this conversation, and her own actions, to worry about their date.

"The one that lives in my mind, constantly raiding, destroying." Jade said. "Now hush, I need a moment..."

They would sit in the car for a good ten minutes before Jade was ready to drive. In that time, Tori felt too ashamed to bother looking around. 'I was busy running the Prome. I had to replace the band, get things moving. I needed to make sure there was refreshments, and that everyone was having a good time… I… I never once thought about what it meant, having Doug carry off a teenage girl. My god, what if he tried to rape her. I mean, he's a professional, right? He wouldn't have done that, would he? That's the kind of thing that leads to bad yelp reviews, so he'd respect her, right? I mean, there's a guy who plays guitar in his underwear, right?'

"OH MY GOD!" Jade's outburst brought Tori back from her own thoughts.

"What? Is it another killer clown?" Tori asked, eyes searching the all too familiar surroundings for any signs of threat.

"No, it… I hadn't meant to come here." Jade broke down, tears again flowing freely as she let her hurt out, just for a moment.

Tori looked around again, eyes locking on the trailer parked in the houses front yard, in the driveway. 'This...This is Beck's place...'

Jade needed several more moments to let go of her hurt, her loneliness, and get control enough to drive. "Is it okay if we just get takeout?" She asked. "Not sure I can handle a restaurant right now."

"I know a good place, not far from here." Tori told the girl. "It's Mexican, if that's okay."

"I could use a taco." Jade smiled, still not herself yet.

"Um, it's authentic Mexican, so the taco's, not what you're used too." Tori said, feeling worried now. "But the foods good. Excellent. Why not let me order, and well see where we are, okay?"

"Sure." Jade agreed, her voice muted. "After all, you're supposed to be the man on this date."

Tori didn't hesitate, pulling out her phone and making the call. She spoke in Spanish, exchanging pleasantries and placing her order, before hanging up her phone. "Um, I understand you speak Spanish, right?"

"Yea." Jade agreed, still trying to get her ragged emotions back under control. "But I had things on my mind, so I kinda wasn't lightening. I trust you, Vega. Surprise me with your authentic cuisine."

Tori chuckled. "So, we grab food and head back to mine, right?"

"You sure you wanna be alone with me?" The pale girl asked.

"Right now, fairly certain." Tori found a power in her voice, one fed by a different uncertainty. 'Nothings gonna happen if we're alone for a bit, right?'

"You'd be safer in a crowded restaurant." Jade pointed out. "Or anyplace crowded. Like a mall. We could grab food, head over to the mall, and window shop..."

"And that would be the last I saw of the real Jade." Tori cut in. "Jade, this is good. You opened up to me, told me things."

"Not thinking that's gonna happen again." The goth said, her voice harder now. "Not tonight, anyways."

Tori met her eyes, and something inside her grew even more resolute. "Drive. Go to this address," She showed the pale girl her phone, "and let me run in and get the food. Then, you can drive me to my place, or your place, and we'll talk. Just, choose a place, and lets get away from here before people think you're stalking Beck."

"They declined to take out the restraining order." Jade said. "Beck's dad, not my biggest fan. Something about vicious dogs. Like that dog is that mean. He takes it jogging, every morning. They play in the frigging park. It just, it hates confined spaces, something about the way it was raised, so as long as they let it have the run of the backyard, everyone's happy."

"You think that's why is was so gentile when we had it?" Tori wondered. "I mean, either that dog was a real sweetheart, and something set it off, or it really hates men."

"Don't think that dogs been jilted enough yet." Jade noted.

"Beck's dad really gets along with it?" Tori pushed.

"They sleep in the same room now." Jade told her. "Turns out, once it trusts you, you can even sleep with the door closed, and it won't go all berserk. Dogs is a real sweetheart, up until you step on one of it's quirks."

"Um, why aren't we driving?" Tori asked. "I heard we can talk AND drive, if we really want too."

"Sarcasm Vega?" Jade asked, even as her car slipped in gear. "You really wanna go there?"

"No, I wanna go to the restaurant, but you just weren't moving." Tori smiled. "So, no restraining order, just a cuddle monster that hates confined spaces?"

"He makes a good guard dog, cause he can be viscous when protecting his home." Jade said, even as the car glided through the night. "But mostly, he's a big cuddle monkey who's all love and affection. Guy was fun to play fetch with too."

"You like that dog, don't you?" Tori asked.

"It's kinda funny, dogs, good dogs, they're like Cat, in that they're all love." Jade admitted, feeling better now that she was talking about something other then her pain. "The breakup was, and is, hard on me." Her hands moved, turning the car in one swift motion. "Time to bury the past. Not so sure about killing it, but if I have too..."

"That was grim." The singer noted.

"It feels like something someone might say, advice about living for the day, or even thinking about the future." Blue eyes still held so much pain, even as the car shifted into gear, and they left that place full of memories behind. The next few minutes were Tori giving directions, and Jade following them. Then, in a strip mall, they found the restaurant, and Jade parked long enough for Tori to go in and grab their dinner. "Tori, I… No, go get dinner." Despite that, the Latina hesitated.

"I, er, I don't have enough money..." Tori admitted. Jade, without flinching, handed her a twenty, and the singer took off into the building.

It took only a few minutes for Tori to get their food, pay for it, and come back with both the food and the change. "I know, I'm supposed to pay… is it okay if I owe you?"

"Sure." Jade shrugged. "Just, as the guy in this relationship, you're not pulling your weight."

"Yea, cause I'm not a guy." Tori told her. "Look, Jade, I get it, sometimes it's safer to be the girl, to have the power. Only, usually you have it right, that you have to be willing to go for what you want, and not worry about what other people think. That means that maybe, just maybe, if you want something out of this relationship..." She hesitated, choosing her words carefully.

"I'll do everything, just..." Jade jumped in. A sigh escaped her mouth. "In the end of World War Two, the negotiations with the Japanese hit a snag. The allies were willing to give all kinds of concessions, just as long as they got to call it an unconditional surrender." Her mind raced to confirm what she already knew.

"And what does that have to do with this date?" Tori questioned.

Jade pulled her car out of the parking space, not wanting to have to meet the other girls lovely coffee eyes while answering. "The Japanese were willing to surrender, almost totally unconditionally, as long as they didn't have to call it an unconditional surrender." She said, watching as she made her way out of the parking lot, and started driving towards the Vega home. "It was about Face, honor, what people would think. The President had pledged to force an unconditional surrender. So, if they didn't get one, it would make him seem weak. However, the Japanese also had their pride, and didn't want the stigma of surrendering unconditionally, even if it was just a name. The atomic bomb, of course, solved that dilemma."

"And this is you're impasse?" Tori asked, now fascinated by where the pale girl was going with this.

"Yea." Jade nodded. "I need a man. And to get one, I'm willing to take certain duties on. So, as long as we know you're the man in this relationship, you're taking responsibility for the whole thing moving forward, and will, on paper, be the one to hold me when the world gets to be too much, then I can take some of the responsibilities that the guy usually does."

"I guess..." The Latina felt odd, but was determined to see more of this Jade. "So, not to risk an accident, but you were saying something about killing things?"

"Killing the past." Jade corrected. "We live in the past, where so many of us get trapped, and we don't have the strength to deal with the present in order to build the future. No, dreamers are trapped in the past, and dreaming of a future where they're free. Me? I have no intention of letting my past, no mater how much it weighs me down, hold me back. No! It's time to find the way, move forward."

"I guess..." Tori sighed, looking out the window. "So I'm part of this plan, somehow?"

"This isn't a rebound." Jade told her, voice stronger now. "Beck and me, we were dying for years now. But I held on when I shouldn't, and it cost me."

"Yea, you were pretty bitchy." Tori said. "Wait, sorry, I meant..." Her mind raced for another word, one that wouldn't involve her jumping out of the car while moving. 'I was so lucky I didn't get seriously hurt the first time. Okay to do if your fearing for your life, but this..? No, Lets hope...' Her mind pulled her back. "What did you say?"

"I said, I'm still kinda bitchy." Jade repeated. "Me dating you isn't gonna change that." Her smile was almost predatory, and the singer was starting to get dizzy trying to keep up with the pale girls mood swings. "No, what it cost me was the realization that us, we may well work out far better as a couple." She smiled, her eyes locked on the road. "This date, it should have happened years ago. Even before Sikowitz forced us to go on that so called play date. Not saying I was ready, but if we're being honest, we probably should have been dating by your second year at Hollywood arts."

Tori felt many emotions, including excitement, shock, and disbelief. Her mouth, which had been slack for a moment, started working before her brain. "Not sure either of us were remotely ready."

"Maybe, and maybe it'll be better this way." Jade continued. "I need to tell you something, but it can wait until later. Just, remind me I have a secret to tell you after dinner, okay?"

"Sure." Tori nodded.

"And we're ready now, so lets take the risk, shall we?" Jade asked.

"Left here." Tori said, seemingly out of nowhere. "My dad has a shortcut, this way, and he swears by it."

"It's actually longer." Jade noted, but took the turn.

"Okay, it's faster, but a longer drive." Tori corrected. "Happy now?"

"Yes." Jade smiled a smug smile, and Tori felt her own smile grow.

'Past the drama.' Tori thought, even as she, inexperienced as she was, knew that they were just getting started.

They reached the Vega home, and Tori led the way in. smiling at how much she and Jade had shared.

"You know, I've been all open and chiz, while you got a show." Jade noted.

"Yea, that was kinda weird." Tori agreed.

"So, spill." Jade said, smiling. "Share something, maybe something embarrassing."

"Why?" The singer whined. "I mean, you know plenty about me, right? Like, er, like how I was into hamboning when I was younger. That's pretty embarrassing."

"And you only shared that because your old partner, Gerold Ardbeg, was harassing Robbie, and for whatever reason you felt like telling us about your hobby." Jade returned. "That, and he did something to your purse, right?"

"Never speak of it." Tori warned. "But, you know all kinds of embarrassing things about me. It's what friends do, we talk, help one another, and as a result, we learn things."

"You make a good point, Vega." Jade said, nodding as she made her way to the kitchen table. Tori was content to eat on the couch, and had stopped there. "Um, Vega, we're civilized, on a civilized date. We eat at the table, kay?'

"Kay kay." Tori said back. "Man, I never say that. Whats up with me?"

"Guilt, cause you know you owe me some secrets." Jade said, rounding on the Latina. "Now sit, eat, and most important, spill. Tell me a secret so I don't feel like I'm the only one giving."

"I lost my virginity at thirteen." Tori said, not sure why, but thinking it was important. "I was still mourning the end of my hamboning career, and Alex was so nice."

"Tell me, do I have to kill this Alex?" Jade asked.

"No, she was just a summer fling, someone to be with at camp." Tori sighed. "Honestly, I think, in the end, we did it just to do it. Like, the sex, we didn't know much, just that being with another girl was taboo, and scandalous, and we had no idea what we were doing, so the home court advantage was nice. Only, and this is really embarrassing..."

"So now you have to tell me." Jade leaned forward, over the table, to hear better. The side effect was her breasts were hanging slightly, with her top pushed out by there mass.

"Well, it's really embarrassing." Tori emphasized. "See, neither of us had done much in the way of masturbation, so..."

"So…?" Jade prompted, wanting more.

"So, we were really bad at things." Tori admitted. "We tried stuff, and we hurt one another. I mean, luckily, we both were more then ready to stop, but we did hurt in the morning. In the end, we had to seek advice from one of the female counselors."

"Bet that was an awkward conversation." Jade seemed almost giddy at hearing Tori's tale.

"It was." Tori was blushing now, but realizing how deep what Jade had already told her was, she felt she did owe the end of the story. "So, there we were, sitting next to this girl, Marcy, and she's explaining masturbation to us. Using her hands and all, but no one wanted any form of demonstration. Just, we felt we needed to know, cause we, Alex and me, we were committed to each other. We were one anthers firsts."

"So, I take it you tried things out?" Jade wanted to know, and Tori was tempted to leave the story there. Only, the most embarrassing part hadn't been shared yet.

"Yep, that's what happened." Tori said, but something inside her pushed the next part out. "Until Trina burst in, disrupting our foreplay, and possibly scarring Alex for life. I mean, after camp, she and I, we drifted apart, never really talking."

"She go to your school?" Jade sought clarification.

"Lives on the other side of the valley." Tori told the goth. "But, it still felt like things fell apart way quick."

"Cause Trina burst in." Jade chuckled. "Wait, why did your sister burst in?"

"Marcy told her about our relationship." Tori said, finishing her story. "And before you ask, there was no confidentiality, which is the guarantee that they won't tell people."

"So I'm not the only person who's seen a shrink, huh?" Jade asked, but she wasn't really asking, just fishing for a confirmation.

"See, Marcy and Trina were roommates at the camp." Tori felt she was finished.

"You said Marcy was a counselor." Jade pointed out.

"A youth counselor." Tori agreed. "A couple of years older then me, and responsible for training Trina, who was there learning to be a youth counselor."

"So, Tina knows your first time was with a chick?" Jade asked. "Wait, if her's was with Monica..."

"Marcy, and no." Tori said. "Thank the gods I have no idea who my sister lost hers with was. Some chick named Kathy."

"I was kidding about losing it with a chick." Jade told the singer.

"I wish I was." Tori admitted. "Look, I'm attracted to you. Seriously interested, both sexually, and emotionally. But usually, I'm way into guys, almost as much as my sister is. However, and this is just between you and me, it seems that camp has a reputation for girls hooking up with girls. And the strange thing was, it's co-ed."

"Thanks, Vega." Jade breathed. "I mean it, thanks."

"For what?" Tori asked.

"Trusting me." Jade said. "I.. I needed that, cause me, I don't trust easily. You probably already know why, but it's really hard for me to trust, to open up. I.. I never feel safe enough to open up, to confess my weaknesses. Not to anyone."

"Except Beck." Tori corrected.

"He doesn't know all my weaknesses." Jade told the girl. "The stuff he knows, he tried to change me, to get me to act more normal, and did so in ways that just weren't gonna work. And that's with him knowing some of what I've told you, or am gonna tell you." She sighed, shaking her head. "Thing is, I know he meant well, but it hurt." Her ocean blue eyes bored into Tori's. "That's the thing, I'm used to the idea of love hurting, cause for me, for my mom and dad, it's always hurt. Love bites, leaves scars. And I have them, emotional, maybe some physical. Cause, that's what loves done to me."

Tori stared at the pale girl, trying to absorb what she just heard. "You..."

"I don't open up easily." Jade snapped, her ire born of fear more then anything else. "Vega, I..." She inhaled again. "You're into me?"

"I just said that." Tori huffed.

"Sorry, in the middle of a lot of chiz here, and it's making me kinda slow." Jade sighed, her anger dimmed now. "Tori, please, this...It's not easy for me. I want to talk to you, tell you things, but it hurts. Just remembering some of the things I've thought, or felt, it hurts. I do feel safe here, safe enough to talk about things. And you know me, you know that's not the way I roll. But I want to talk, take advantage of the support, your friendship. Just..." She exhaled hard, then gulped down another breath as she gathered courage. "I think you're very pretty. Not just from certain angles, but… I never dared think you'd be interested in me. I mean, I'm so mean..."

Tori chuckled. "So, you're worried about making a bad impression?" She asked. "That ships sailed a long, long time ago, West. No, the best thing we can do is struggle through this, open up to one another." She smiled. "I told you a secret, something I've tried to hide for years. So, does that make you feel better?"

"Not really." The blue eyed girl sighed, again. "I'd kinda hoped I'd be your first."

"I'm glad you weren't." Tori said, taking Jade's hand. "We hear about how special the first time is, and it is. But so many people, myself included, waist that time. Our first isn't special, it's just something we do. Me, I slept with a girl who didn't care about me, just losing her virginity, and it's memorable because it was awful. You, you at least gave it to someone who cared about you."

"No, I didn't." Jade was staring down at the carpet now. "I..."

"You were raped, weren't you?" Tori asked. "God, please, say it wasn't Doug. Not sure I could handle that."

"I've been through six kinds of hell, but no one got that far, Vega." Jade said, keeping her voice as even as her current highly emotional, and irritated, state would allow. "In fact, due to the earlier chiz, I have issues. I..." She felt the tears again, but held them back. "I-I'm a virgin. Technically, that is. Not sure if I really count, but I've never done it, and that's a problem."

"I admire your self control." Tori said, offering her best supportive smile.

"I said it was a problem, cause there were times I wanted to lose it." Jade said, now looking out the window at the Vega's back yard. "Beck, and lord knows, I'm sure I scarred poor Moose worse then anything I did to you."

"How so?" Tori wondered.

"I gave him a ride to Tinkle aid, and along the way, I stopped the car, to make out a bit." Jade confessed.

"I knew it." Tori said. "I KNEW YOU SEDUCED HIM!"

"Still a virgin." Jade said, her voice edging with contempt. "But he misinterpreted my need to win, and tried to take it further then a little making out. I… I may have hurt him, just a little."

"Maybe that's why he wanted to get out of Hollywood so quickly after the show?" Tori asked. "Um, was it your scissors?"

"I threatened to break his penis." Jade said. "I kinda subdued him, just a bit, and held him down while I cupped his junk. Told him I could squeeze it hard enough to hear those Huevos pop."

"Ouch." Tori looked around, suddenly very aware that she was alone with a girl who just admitted to overpowering a two hundred and twenty pound almost man, who was obviously in very good shape. "So, we're good, right?"

"No." Jade's voice was suddenly cold. "Because I just realized, the only way things can work now is for us to somehow, in the very near future, work though my issues and have you, with all your experience, take my virginity."

"So no pressure, huh?" Tori tried to lighten the mood, as she realized that she was in no real danger, just an incredibly awkward situation.

"Oh, none whatsoever." Jade agreed.

"You know, you come on real strong for someone who never did it." The Latina pointed out.

"I use my aggressive posturing to scare people away." Jade said, and Tori wasn't sure it was a guess, or the result of a lot of introspection.

"Um, Jade, sorry to shift subjects, but do you, perhaps, know what introspection means? I just thought of it, and I know I've heard it someplace, but..." Tori offered a weak smile.

"It means a reflective looking inward." Jade said. "The act of looking at your own emotions and thought processes and figuring chiz out."

"You know that word cause you're a writer, right?" Tori asked, not sure she wanted this answer.

"I know that word cause I've been asked to do a lot of it over the years." Jade clarified. "So, scare you off yet?"

"Just presented me with one mountain of a challenge." Tori said, smiling as she relaxed into the task before her. "So, lets get to it.'

"To what?" Jade was suddenly on the defensive, worrying that Tori was up to something.

"It's gonna take us some time, but I'm thinking we watch a movie, and work on dissolving those fears you have that keep you from being intimate." Tori slipped a touch closer to the goth, smiling at the sitting girl.

"I thought we agreed that nothing would happen tonight." Jade said, and Tori saw it, for the first time, fear in the pale girls blue eyes.

"Relax, we're only gonna go as far as we're both comfortable with." Tori assured her girl. "But if it makes you feel better, maybe we should establish a safe word or two. I mean Red works well enough, but sometimes, we like to have our own, right?"

Tori opened her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin. 'Forgot to close the curtains last night.' She noted as she stretched, moving gingerly so as to let her body finish waking up. Despite the odd aches, she smiled, as memories of the previous night flooded her mind.

Jade had let her cuddle as they watched some sappy rom-com, each enjoying the ridiculous circumstances the protagonist somehow found themselves in, all the while secretly rooting for a side character that was obviously better for the heroin then the one she'd obviously wind up with. Overall, a much nicer evening then Tori would have guessed.

'We talked.' Tori thought, remembering what they'd chosen to do after the movie. How Jade, having already opened up to her about so much, filled in some blanks. 'Jade explained about giving head. Never would have thought of it like that, something you give the guy to keep him interested up until you decide if you're ready to go all the way. Guessing it's easier to see that as just sex, as opposed to true intimacy. To me, any sexual contact has meaning. Still, never would have thought of tickling the ball sack. Girls had fewer lovers, but a lot more experience giving head.' That thought made Tori smile.

Pulling her dressing robe on, over her jammies, the Latina started towards the bathroom to do her morning routine before heading down to see if her guest had stayed the night. It took only a few minutes to use the restroom, brush her teeth, and descend to the lower level to check the guest room.

"Morning." She called to the lump in the middle of the guest bed, in that darkened room where the curtains had somehow kept the bright, bright morning light at bay.

"God, you're a morning person, aren't you?" Jade groaned.

"Gonna be a problem?" Tori wondered.

"No, Beck was a morning person, and I endured." Jade told her, dark hair popping out from under the comforter. "Look, I don't exactly turn heads first thing in the AM."

"No one does." Tori almost chuckled. "Come on, this is the next step in our relationship, me seeing you without your makeup."

The blue eyed girl pulled herself out from under her covers, and to Tori's eyes, there was so little difference. Jade was a natural beauty, who'd used makeup to more add to her goth image then enhanced her looks. 'Okay, maybe enhance it a little, but for the most part, she's a knockout.' The singers mind analyzed every inch of the taller girls body. How Jade's pajamas's hugged her form, even as she made her way towards the bag she'd recovered from her car just the night before. "Do you always carry an overnight bag?"

"Never know when I'm gonna need to sleep someplace else." Jade said with a shrug. "And no, not just because my parents abuse me, cause that no longer happens. It's… It's hard sometimes to sleep alone. I once even told Cat my home was being fumigated so I could stay with her a few days. I mean, it sounded so much like a lie, case what kind of parents wouldn't have some kind of place for me to stay already lined up, huh?"

"I could see them letting you make your own arrangements, just because you might have a friend willing to put you up." Tori replied.

"But to make me?" Jade said. "With no real advanced warning? I was lucky to have my overnight bag, or I'd have been wearing whatever Cat might have had laying around. No way I was gonna go to school in one of her outfits."

"Too girly." Tori agreed.

"Too small." Jade countered. "You might not have noticed, but I'm like seven inches taller then she is." A strange smile crossed the pale, beautiful face. "I know, kinda hard to see sometimes, even when we're side by side, cause we're so similar."

"Sarcasm?" Tori mock scolded. "At this hour?"

"You're the one who got up this early on a Saturday." Jade said with a shrug.

"So, breakfast?" The Latina wondered.

"Yea, lets try that." Jade agreed. "What? Sometimes, I sleep in a bit, and I make myself skip breakfast. It's okay, though, cause I just eat a slightly larger lunch. I know, big temptation to eat two lunches, but that just makes you sick. So I make sure to only have a little more, and then, I can say I paid for it in more ways then one."

"Eating disorder?" Tori was now worried.

"More like punishing myself." Jade said. "My therapist calls it self mutilation, but I haven't cut in like, a long long time."

"Please, no jokes about that." Tori groaned. Only, the look Jade gave, before her smile covered it, said otherwise.

"Hay, I have issues." Jade admitted, again. "Beck, he used to hate when I wore the long sleeves, but only cause he thought it was an odd look. Boy knew I'd been hurting myself, different ways, cause cuts leave scars, but he never really tried to stop me. Would lecture me until I was ready to scream, but wouldn't do one thing to stop me. Guessing he believed me when I said I'd do it anyway, if I wanted too."

"So, why not stop?" Tori asked.

"Cause, I sometimes need to punish myself." Jade told her. "You know me, know the kind of gank I can be. I know I go too far sometimes, and so, I have to do something. I punish, and in doing so, balance the universe, so I won't be too punished by it for my many, many transitions."

"Does it work?" The singer asked, but this time, the question was more strategic.

"Sometimes." Jade said with another shrug. "So, breakfast?"

"Making something." Tori announced before heading off to the kitchen to pull out the directions to make eggs. 'Assuming mom left eggs. I swear, sometimes, she just doesn't take care of her children like she used too. We have food, but mom's supposed to do more, like maybe make sure we eat, or that the right kinds of food are available. Still, she also makes family pot pie, so she's not all bad...'

"Cereals fine." Jade told her, finding a seat at the table.

"So, what do you mean sometimes punishing yourself works?" Tori pushed.

"Just what I said." Jade returned.

"So you made up for all the bad you did to me?" The Latina wondered.

"No." The pale girl replied. "Or I wouldn't have been so shut out by your talent. Honestly, Tori, I get it, you're bright and beautiful and so easy to work with, but I'm as good an actress as you are. I should have gotten some of the leads."

"But you didn't, cause you were so busy punishing everything." Tori clarified. "Me, you, everyone you thought had dome you wrong, and it never works, even if it looked like it did, cause it still costs you in the long run."

"Cost me Beck." Jade agreed.

"But you can also be a good friend, and by doing that, it won you friends." Tori continued. "Hell, it won you me."

"So glad I came here." Jade told her, a small smile on her face.

"Yea, and before you leave, we're gonna do something about us." Tori told the girl.

"Worried now." Jade said, but her smile didn't leave.

"Just, we're dating now, right?" Tori asked.

"One date." The pale girl agreed.

"Not good enough." Tori sighed. "Jade, we talked, really talked, and I'm thinking I more then earned the right to demand something out of you. So, we dating, or you gonna let me have a feel?"

The glare Jade leveled at her was almost nuclear, but quickly faded. "Why choose." She said.

"What now?" Tori asked, shocked that her choice was being altered.

"If you really are my girlfriend, then I can endure that much." Jade told her. "Tori, I have a lot of issues, but last night, I would have let you sneak in a squeeze or two. Would have distracted from the horror."

"YOU chose the rom-com." Tori accused, but calmed down. "Okay, then lets get too is." Jade stood up, pulling open her top. "I meant, lets confirm our relationship on line."

"Oh, sure." Jade was smiling. "Just, look." Coffee eyes met the black of Jade's bra. A moment later, the cup was pulled don, and Tori got a view of nipple. "Not give it a feel, before someone comes in, and we have a load of explaining to do."

Tori gave her a quick feel, and then went back to making the eggs. "Lets just eat, okay?"

"Updated my status." Jade announced. "So, what're we doing today?"

"You're gonna eat, go home, clean up, and come back here tonight for our second date." Tori told her. "By then, I'll have plans, okay?"

"Kay kay." Jade chirped.

After a quick meal, the two said their goodbye's and Jade departed, while Tori looked over her looming schoolwork. 'Nothing I need to get done for the next four days, and I'm on track to be done with everything well before it's due, so nothing to freak out about. Still, it gave the illusion I had something to do while she left. No sense in freaking my new girlfriend out….'

She let herself get dressed first, then found her phone and texted Jade, asking the girl to confirm she'd made it home safely. The emoji she got back was both comforting and insulting, but Tori rode with it, knowing Jade wasn't the kind to just be coddled, even if the girl secretly loved it. 'Gonna be an interesting romance...'

Relaxing into the slow energy of a Saturday morning, Tori started on her latest project, but was careful not to get too involved, because she knew what was coming next. Now comfortable, with her phone on it's charger, she updated her status, and waited. 'Trina's off at camp, so it'll probably be mom or dad first, but I wouldn't be surprised if Beck was the first to call. After all, none of them saw this coming.' The Latina smiled, and opened her calendar.

Lets see, one hundred days from today is…. Or should it be, no today. We became a couple today.' Tori noted the date, and put a reminder to make it special. 'I've got one hundred days to make me swiping her V card okay with her, and I'm gonna do it. I mean, once you get past the bad, Jade's a real keeper.

She checked her phone, anxious to see who'd respond first, then got to planning. "Gotta think of something fun, probably not to expensive, and something we'll both enjoy that won't give us nightmares. Then, a little later, maybe I hit the bank, get me some cash. Gonna need it." Tori was enjoying her new role,. Even if she had no idea what to expect. "I mean, it IS date night.'

:}

Okay, just wanted to publish something, cause...So, review if your out there.


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